Harris County Constable, Mark Herman, demonstrates how to secure a firearm with a gun lock.

Harris County Constable, Mark Herman, demonstrates how to secure a firearm with a gun lock.

Photo: Harris County Constable's Office

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Firearms secured with gun locks.

Firearms secured with gun locks.

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Harris County safety officials hand out free gun locks

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Within four days, three children were shot in Harris County with unsecured guns in homes.

Among the three shootings, two toddlers died. Although all three incidents were separate, each case involved unsecured loaded guns.

The most recent incident on Friday, Feb. 27, involved a 3-year-old boy accidently shooting himself at a home in Northwest Harris County in the 7400 block of Bentanna Drive in the Hearthstone subdivision. The child later died.

The unfortunate events have sparked a concern among Harris County safety officials. One result is the Harris County Constable’s Office is giving away free gunlocks.

“The bottom line is guns are not made to be available to kids,” said Mark Herman, assistant chief of Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Ron Hickman.

Herman says that within two days, 30-40 gunlocks were picked up from the Constable’s Office.

It is advised if parents own guns in the home with their children, that they take all safety precautions to keep the firearm out of harms way.

The Constable’s Office advises that guns should always be stored away in a locked safe, gun vault, or storage case. Ammunition should be stored in a separate secure place.

In addition to safely storing firearms, the Constable’s Office says it is equally as important to teach children about gun safety.

Important rules include stopping if you find a gun in or around your house, not touching the weapon, leaving the area of the gun and immediately telling an adult. Some guns look like toys, so parents are advised to tell their children to assume it is a real gun. Rules such as these can prevent tragic accidents.

According to Texas law, a person commits an offense if a child under 17 gains access to a readily dischargeable firearm and the person can be charged with criminal negligence if they failed to secure or left a weapon in a place where the person knew or should have known a child could gain access.

“The three [cases] that have been in the last couple of weeks, most have been where the guns were easily accessible,” Herman said. “The main thing is kids getting hurt with guns is 100 percent preventable.”

Gunlocks can be picked up Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Harris County Constable’s Office.